In the early hours of July 4th, several exciting games took place in the men’s basketball Olympic qualifying tournament, with some surprising results.
The Philippines faced Latvia, the fifth-place finisher in the last men’s basketball World Cup. Latvia boasts players like Bertāns who plays in the NBA and had the advantage of playing at home. However, the game took an unexpected turn. The Philippines established a 16-point lead in the first quarter and continued to dominate. At the end of the third quarter, they were leading by 21 points. Latvia’s efforts in the final quarter, scoring 24-12, were not enough to overcome the deficit. The Philippines ultimately won 89-80, pulling off a major upset. The Philippines’ naturalized player, Brownlee, recorded a near triple-double with 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists. Sotto also contributed 18 points and 8 rebounds.
New Zealand went head-to-head against Croatia. Croatia had a dominant victory over Slovenia, featuring Luka Doncic, in their first game. They also boast several NBA players like Zubac and Saric. The match was a tight affair, with Croatia leading by 5 points at the end of the third quarter. However, Croatia’s offense went cold in the final quarter, only scoring 7 points. Hezonja missed 4 consecutive three-pointers in the final moments. As a result, Croatia suffered a 86-90 upset against New Zealand, shaking up the group’s qualification chances. Zubac had a solid performance with 29 points and 16 rebounds on 12-of-15 shooting, but it wasn’t enough. Hezonja went 6-for-22 from the field for 16 points, and Saric contributed 19 points.
In other matches, Greece defeated Dominican Republic by a score of 109-82. Giannis Antetokounmpo played 18 minutes and scored 32 points on a perfect 11-for-11 shooting. The Bahamas edged out Poland 90-81. Ayton recorded 18 points and 9 rebounds, while Hill scored 17 points, had 10 assists, and 6 rebounds. Spain secured a victory over Angola 89-81. Aldama led with 24 points and 8 rebounds, while Hernangómez added 22 points and 10 rebounds.
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